The New York Mets got some unfortunate news on Wednesday when the final two games of their crucial series against the Atlanta Braves were postponed to a doubleheader on Monday. However, if the Mets had played, they would have gotten their best player back in the lineup after a lengthy injury spell.
Before Wednesday’s rainout became official, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza had penciled in superstar Francisco Lindor to lead off and play shortstop, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
“He was feeling good today,” Mendoza said. “That’s why he was in the lineup. He’s going to work out, hit in the cages, move around, and we’ll see how he continues to progress. But we’re buying him an extra day or two here.”
Lindor had missed eight straight games for the Mets after tweaking his back on Sept. 13 before briefly appearing in, and then exiting early on Sept. 15. It was clear that Lindor was close to returning after he was seen in the on-deck circle with two outs in the ninth inning during the Mets’ 5-1 loss to the Braves on Tuesday despite not ending up in the game.
Now, Lindor will have an additional two days to continue to get healthy before the Mets begin a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers before the doubleheader against the Braves on Monday.